Ghost Hunter Read Free Page B

Albert Roy St. Clair was a great-uncle on her mother’s side.
    â€œYou’re missing the big picture here,” she said. “I don’t have to be guilty of anything. All I have to do is embarrass the college. In academic politics, perception is everything. Good grief. When I think of how hard I’ve worked to convince my colleagues that the Guild has changed over the years, that it isn’t really an organization that is only half a step above a criminal mob, I could just spit. Talk about a complete waste of time and energy.”
    â€œYou won’t lose your position at the college,” Cooper said without inflection. “Don’t worry about it.”
    It was her turn to raise her brows. “Why? Because you’ll make a few phone calls and intimidate the Academic Council?”
    â€œIf there’s a problem, I’ll take care of it,” he said.
    â€œDon’t even think about trying to do any such thing, Cooper Boone. I will not tolerate you using your position to interfere in my career.”
    â€œI think you’re overreacting here,” Cooper said quietly.
    â€œI’m furious. If you want to label that an overreaction, you’re welcome to your point of view. Forget my little problem with the Academic Council. I’ll handle my professional life my way. Let’s get back to a more important issue.”
    His brows came together in a small frown of surprise. “There’s a more important issue?”
    â€œYes.” She braced herself. “You’ve as much as admitted that there was a duel. Let’s move on to my second question. People are saying that I was the cause of that ghost-fight between you and Palmer Frazier. Is that true?”
    Cooper exchanged a look with her father. She knew that he was making his decision, deciding how much of the truth to tell her. Did he realize that their entire future together hinged on what he said next? Probably not. He wasa Guild boss. It wouldn’t occur to him that this situation had escaped his control.
    Cooper unfolded his hands. He took off his glasses with a deliberate air and set them down on the desk.
    Slowly he walked across the room to stand at one of the tall windows. For a moment or two he studied the view of the ruins of the ancient alien town site that had been deserted thousands of years before humans had arrived on the planet.
    â€œFrazier is a very ambitious man, Elly,” he said quietly. “He was attempting to use you.”
    â€œWe dated for a while,” she said icily. “We had some fun together. He did not use me.”
    â€œHe intended to marry you. He was going on the assumption that once you were his wife, he would be able to forge a natural alliance with your father. That would have given him a critical edge on the Council.”
    She felt the floor start to dissolve under her feet. So much for the one frail thread of hope that she had been clinging to so tightly for the past few hours.
    â€œI see,” she managed in a voice that was no more than a whisper. “This was all about the Guild.”
    John inclined his head in a sage manner. “It’s true, Elly. Frazier was determined to marry you. I warned him off privately, but he ignored me. If he had succeeded in convincing you to contract a formal Covenant Marriage with him, I would have been placed in an untenable situation, forced to choose between supporting my son-in-law for the sake of my daughter and her future offspring, or voting against him and risking an irreparable rift in our clan. It is very likely that, in the end, I would have had to step down from the Council to avoid being caught in the middle.”
    â€œWhich,” Cooper said, turning back to face her, “would have tipped the balance of power on the Council in such a way that it is entirely possible Frazier would have becomethe new Guild boss. He certainly has the para-rez talent, the ambition, and the connections it takes